CHAPTER 3: REI'S SECRET
"Why don't we invite Kai over for dinner."
//REI POV//
I walked along the road back to the apartment, my mind in my own little world. 'Til it came back, by someone grabbing me from behind and dragging me into an alley. "You gave Yuriy the wrong file?" A voice asked. I nodded, "He thinks you're human, Kai." I said. Kai let me go and I turned to face him. "Good. Now what about his current obsession with killing me?" He asked, leaning against a wall. I smirked, "I can't control him or his obsessions...Oh, here." I pulled Kai's real file from a bag a kind kid let me 'borrow.' "Do whatever you want with it, the city's not gonna miss it." I told him, pushing the file at him. He smirked, taking the file from me, "Thanks. You know, with one of the best bounty hunters on my side-" "I'm not on your side, Kai. There's just something about you...and I want you alive until I can figure out what." "Or maybe you just want me." Kai said, smirking. I scoffed, "Yeah. Why would I want you? I've got Yuriy." Kai shrugged, pushing off the wall, "I'll be in touch, Rei. See ya around." He walked to the dead end, a 10 foot wall and jumped it with ease. "What are you looking at, Rei?" Yuriy's voice came from behind me, making me jump. "Nothing. I wasn't looking at a thing. What's to look at? ... Come on, let's go home." I pushed past him in a hurry and continued walking toward our apartment.
//YURIY POV//
Rei and I walked back to our apartment in complete and annoying silence, which bothered me. Rei was never silent, ever. I brushed it off for the moment and kept walking. Bored, I looked around as we walked. The sidewalks were your basic concrete, the roads were brick. The buildings were black mirrored glass, each a minimum of 10 stories. After a block and a half of black buildings, a white marble building appeared. We stopped at the entrance as Rei put in the password to open the doors. 'Zenoshia Skies' Was engraved on a gold plate above the large door leading into the 20 story building. A beep sounded and the door slid open, I followed Rei in. We walked past the non-service desk on our right and to the elevator on the left. Walking in I hit the button, literally, for the 20th floor, accidentally hitting the buttons for the 17th, 18th and 19th floors as well. The elevator needed service and made a few wirr-y sounds before starting up. The elevator was very jungle-y. Dark green carpeting, emerald marble for the walls and ceiling, hand rails out of green copper. At the 6th floor Rei's silence was killing me. I reached out and punched the large, obnoxious 'Stop' button, making the elevator jerk to a halt between the 6th and 7th floors. "Okay, what the hell is up with you today?" I asked, my voice echoing against the marble. Rei's gaze fell to the wall next to him. After a few more seconds of silence I spoke again. "Answer me damnit." I demanded. "You want the truth, Yuriy?" He asked, his voice heavy. "Yes. I want the truth, tell me." Rei sighed, leaning against the elevator's wall. "Fine. I've been helping a bounty...I've been helping him evade other bounty hunters and he's helping me catch other bounties." I stood there, staring for a few minutes before speaking again, "Who." I asked, the question more of a demand than a request. "The file you saw wasn't real...It was a fake I made. I stole the real one." Rei replied, his gaze still focused on anything but me. "I don't believe you! You go behind my back and help the bounty I've been hunting." "It was before you were hunting him, I didn't think you'd go after Kai. He's been on the bounty list for 5 years and no one's caught him." "This is great, you're on a first name basis with the bounty. Why don't we invite him over for dinner. Then we can go help him steal somethin'." Sarcasm dripped from my words but Rei looked dead serious. "This is just great. Rei, you're a bounty hunter. Not a bounty helper." I hit the stop button again, making the elevator continue it's trip up and hit the button for the 7th floor. The doors opened to a mass of people. I shoved my way, more forcefully than necessary, through the sea of people. I needed fresh air, now, so I took the seven flights of stairs, and ran out the front door. I ran straight across the street through the alley that lead to an open field, stopping only then to catch my breath. And only then did I notice it was pouring rain. Looking up to glare at the clouds, I shrugged off the cold rain and continued, walking.
